College of Education and Human Development

School of Social Work

Staff

Emily Batts Emily Batts

  • Curriculum and University Operations Specialist, Child Welfare Training Academy
  • she, her, hers
  • 612-301-9802
  • krzyk004@umn.edu

Emily Batts is the Curriculum and University Operations Administrator for the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy.

Emily Batts

Erin Bernardy Erin Bernardy

  • Title IV-E Program Evaluator, Center for the Advanced Study of Child Welfare
  • she, her, hers
  • berna424@umn.edu

Erin Bernardy evaluates CASCW programs, at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, with Title IV-E funding

Erin Bernardy

Alison Bey Alison Bey

  • Curriculum Developer, Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
  • she, her, hers
  • beyxx016@umn.edu

Alison has an MEd from the U of MN and has been working in the field of Adult Education for about 10 years. Alison is from Saint Paul, and currently lives in Minneapolis with her husband and young daughter.

Alison Bey

Steve Carlson Steve Carlson

Steve joined the Center in 2014 as a Clinical Trainer. Prior to this he served as the Director of Training at a local Minnesota non-profit. He has had a full career in the mental health field spanning nearly forty years.

Steve Carlson

Denise Cooper Denise Cooper

Denise supports the Outreach efforts of CASCW.

Denise Cooper

Rae Dillon Rae Dillon

Rae Dillon, our new academic advisor, has served in the education field for over thirteen years (youth programs, public schools, education nonprofits, & higher education).

Rae Dillon, headshot

Amy Dorman Amy Dorman

  • Researcher; Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
  • she, her, hers
  • dorm0039@umn.edu

Amy Dorman conducts child welfare research and program evaluation at the University of Minnesota, School of Social Work.

Amy Dorman

Kyle Evans Kyle Evans

Kyle comes to us from the University of Minnesota, Morris campus bringing with him five years of progressive higher education experience.

Crystal Fernandez Crystal Fernandez

  • Executive Administrative Office Specialist, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
  • crystal@umn.edu

Crystal supports Title IV-E students at the University of Minnesota, School of Social Work.

Crystal Fernandez

Jane Fields Jane Fields

  • Evaluation and Credentialing Supervisor with the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
  • she, her, hers
  • jfields@umn.edu

Jane has more than two decades of experience working with project leaders, staff members, participants, and communities in evaluating program designs, implementation, and impact as both an internal and external evaluator.

Jane Fields

Kaia Forde Kaia Forde

Kaia Forde works primarily on the messaging, marketing, and communication materials to be used be within and outside of the CASCW.

Kaia Forde

Liz Fronsoe Liz Fronsoe

Liz coordinates the Phoenix Learning Xchange program which aims to broaden the knowledge of development, challenges, positive engagement and wellbeing of youth and adolescents involved in the child welfare and other social service systems, all while…

Liz Fronsoe

Stacy Gehringer Stacy Gehringer

  • Director of Outreach, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
  • she, her, hers
  • gehr0086@umn.edu

Stacy leads the Outreach efforts at CASCW, the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare. She manages communication, training events, faculty partnerships, center collaborations, awards, CW360°, and policy tracking.

Stacy Gehringer

Josh Geiger Josh Geiger

  • Curriculum Developer with the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
  • he, him, his
  • 612-301-9771
  • geig0042@umn.edu

Josh is from St. Paul and currently lives on the West Side. He has previously worked as a trainer, adviser, and teacher. Josh enjoys uncovering the connectedness of seemingly disconnected things and brings an artistic lens to his work.

Josh Geiger

Emily Gus Emily Gus

  • Research Coordinator, Center for Practice Transformation
  • she, her, hers
  • emilygus@umn.edu

Emily Gus joined the Center for Practice Transformation (CPT) as a Research Coordinator, with an MPH in Community Health Promotion from the University of Minnesota.

Emily Gus

Kelly Johnson Kelly Johnson

Kelly Johnson joined the Center for Practice Transformation (CPT) and the School of Social Work (SSW) as an Operations Coordinator with a BA in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse.

Kelly Johnson

Lolita Johnson Lolita Johnson

  • Curriculum Supervisor with the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
  • she, her, hers
  • 612-301-9769
  • howa0052@umn.edu

Lolita has over 20 years of leadership, training, and design experience that relates to adult education and development.

Lolita Johnson

Nora Lee Nora Lee

  • Administrative Operations Professional with the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
  • she, her, hers
  • 612-301-9792
  • nmlee@umn.edu

Nora started with the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare June 2011 as the Executive Office and Administrative Specialist. She assists with the outreach, professional education, and program operations components of the Center.

Nora Lee

Deborah Moore Deborah Moore

Adolescents/Youth, Youth Development, Program Development

Deborah Moore

Shiheina Munye Shiheina Munye

  • Engagement and Communications Specialist, Center for Practice Transformation
  • munye006@umn.edu

Shiheina Munye joined the Center for Practice Transformation (CPT) and the School of Social Work (SSW) as a Community Engagement Coordinator with a BS in Health Promotion & Equity and Community & Environmental Sociology.

Shiheina Munye

Timothy Nichols Timothy Nichols

  • Web and Digital Specialist, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
  • he, him, his
  • 612-625-7468
  • nich0121@umn.edu

Tim has been with the University of Minnesota since 2012 and has experience working with website management, Drupal, Salesforce and Google Analytics.

Timothy Nichols

Bill O'Connor Bill O'Connor

  • Communications Director, Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
  • he, him, his
  • 612-301-9788
  • oconn301@umn.edu

Bill leads the communication strategy for the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA), which is a partnership between the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) and the Child Safety and Permanency Division at the Minnesota…

Bill O'Connor

Peggy Pond Peggy Pond

  • Academic Support Services Professional
  • she, her, hers
  • 612-624-3700
  • ppond@umn.edu

I have many roles in SSW! My main focus is assisting all of our School of Social Work's academic programs, both undergraduate and graduate.

Peggy Pond

Julie Rohovit Julie Rohovit

  • Director of the Center for Practice Transformation; SSW Community Faculty
  • rohov001@umn.edu

Julie is one of the founders of the University of Minnesota School of Social Work's Center for Practice Transformation.

Julie Rohovit

Suzanne Shatila Suzanne Shatila

Suzanne Shatila, DSW, MSSW, LGSW, is the MSW Program Director. Dr. Shatila was involved in mezzo and macro-level social work practice with human services, children's services, and community-based nonprofits prior to moving into higher education…

Suzanne Shatila

Andrea Stronghart Andrea Stronghart

  • Director of Operations, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
  • she, her, hers
  • 612-624-7242
  • astrong@umn.edu

Andrea provides support to the CASCW Executive Director, working to align the budget, human resources, data systems, research-related operations, facilities, technology, and other operational areas with the center’s strategic goals, including the…

Andrea Stronghart

Krista Trempe Krista Trempe

  • Graphic Designer with the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy
  • she, her, hers
  • 612-301-9796
  • ktrempe@umn.edu

Krista is an award-winning graphic designer and visual communicator with over 20 years of experience. The majority of her career has been in magazine publishing, and she's delighted to be working at the Training Academy.

Krista Trempe

Michael Van Wert Michael Van Wert

  • Clinical Trainer and Research Associate, Center for Practice Transformation; SSW Community Faculty
  • he, him, his
  • vanwe027@umn.edu

Michael Van Wert joined the University of Minnesota School of Social Work's Center for Practice Transformation in 2022.

Michael Van Wert

Keely Vandre Keely Vandre

  • PACC Coordinator, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare; SSW Communications
  • she, her, hers
  • 612-626-3831
  • shal0035@umn.edu

Keely coordinates the Permanency & Adoption Competency Certificate (PACC) program offered through the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, supporting advanced level training for mental health and child welfare professionals, and increasing a…

Keely Vandre

Jennifer Wiseman Jennifer Wiseman

  • Associate Director of Training and Operations, Center for Practice Transformation; SSW Community Faculty
  • wisem017@umn.edu

As Associate Director of Operations, Jen oversees the daily and strategic administrative operations of the Center for Practice Transformation and supervises processes for monitoring all projects including contract management, invoicing, deliverables,…

Jennifer Wiseman

Jillian Wright Jillian Wright

  • Associate Director of Community Engagement, Center for Practice Transformation
  • she/her/hers
  • 612-301-5361
  • wrig0331@umn.edu

Jillian Wright is the Center for Practice Transformation's Associate Director of Community Engagement, and continues work as a clinical trainer.

Jillian Wright